KS2 Continuous Provision: Gradual Release of Responsibility

No two weeks are quite the same when you're implementing continuous provision in key stage 2.

If this is the first thing about this that you've found on my blog, it might not make much sense. You'd be much better off going back and reading the following blog posts in this order:

Case Study: Continuous Provision and EYFS-Inspired Practice in KS2

Case Study: Revolutionising Curriculum Delivery in KS2

Continuous Provision in KS2: FAQs

KS2 Continuous Provision: Ensuring Curriculum Coverage

OK, now you've caught up, I'd like share something about what continuous provision in KS2 looks like over time. The first week of a block/unit/half term/term (whichever unit of time you've set as a deadline) will look very different to the last week.

If you follow the Masterclass - Apprentice Task - Showcase pipeline, the balance between adult-orchestrated and child-led will gradually tip from one to the other. If we were to visualise that on a simple timetable it might look something like this:

Most of the time, masterclasses must be taught before children begin work on their apprentice tasks. This is because masterclasses "are a way of ensuring children are still being taught substantive, procedural and disciplinary knowledge by adults. Without this knowledge, they won't be able to complete apprentice tasks meaningfully, nor will they be able to engage with the resources provided in areas of continuous provision as productively as possible." (https://www.aidansevers.com/post/ks2-continuous-provision-ensuring-curriculum-coverage#:~:text=Masterclasses%20are%20a,group%20is%20targeted).

At the beginning of the allotted time period children actually need direct instruction (I love Zach Groshell's 'Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching' as a treatise for why this is so: https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/just-tell-them-the-art-and-science-of-explanation).

However, as children begin to work on their apprentice tasks, they will gradually need less and less of this direct instruction/explicit teaching, and can be allowed to spend some time independently using and applying what they have been taught.

Of course, this doesn't mean that adults become redundant - far from it. They've got an even more nuanced job to do now. In this blog post I wrote about conferencing and check-ins - these are paramount. Without this input from adults, most primary-aged children will struggle to complete long-term apprentice tasks.

The above diagram could be updated to include this:

Over time, adults can expect to shift their focus from more whole-class input (not necessarily teaching the whole class at once, but ensuring that all children are taught the same content, perhaps in groups) towards a more individualised, one-to-one way of working. An important component of this is ongoing, forensic assessment.

If you are still teaching new content towards the end of the allotted time, you have to question when the pupils are going to have time to use and apply that knowledge. By that point it could be too late for it to be properly practised and embedded in their response to the apprentice tasks. Essentially, to allow children to spend time on their apprentice tasks, gaining feedback (from self-evaluation, peer feedback and adult feedback) and iterating their work to improve it, the taught content of the unit of work must be taught up front. As a rough guide, by week 3 of a 6-week-long unit, all the intended new content should be taught.

It's also worth noting that as part of the explicit teaching that occurs at the beginning of the allotted time, children will need to complete practise tasks - they shouldn't go straight into using and applying new knowledge.

If we were to simplify things, it might look this:

The key point of this blog post is that when taking a continuous provision approach in KS2, things change over time: the balance of what teachers are doing and what children are doing changes. Crucially there is a gradual release of responsbility which provides the necessary support for pupils to move towards independence. Of course, the speed at which that responsibility will be handed over will vary from child to child, but that's another blog post for another day.

If you're ready to make changes to the way your curriculum is delivered, here's your 3-step curriculum development plan:

1. Drop me an email

2. Have a phone call with me to talk about your school

3. We'll work together to empower you and your staff to enhance teaching and to enrich your pupils' lives